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New Mexico United returning to Rio Rancho
New Mexico United FC and UDA NMSU warm-up before the start of the game during the U.S. Open Cup at Rio Rancho High School in Rio Rancho on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal)
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RIO RANCHO — New Mexico United will once again kick off in Rio Rancho.
United will open its 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign April 16 at Rio Rancho High School against NPSL club Lubbock Matadors.
Due to a scheduling conflict with the Triple-A baseball Albuquerque Isotopes, United will take the pitch at Rio Rancho Stadium at 7 p.m. instead of Isotopes Park, where the team usually plays its home matches.
NMU also played a U.S. Open Cup match at Rio Rancho Stadium last April, toppling New Mexico State University — University Degrees Abroad, a combination club/academy team, 6-0 in front of 1,680 fans who braved miserable, frigid and windy weather.
“Hosting the United in Rio Rancho is always an honor, and special thanks to RRPS for providing the venue,” Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull said. “I look forward to having them here in Rio Rancho. Let’s pack the house.”
Rio Rancho Stadium seats roughly 4,200 people, which is about 5,400 fewer than the 2023 average attendance at United home matches. NMU is expecting a large turnout from its rabid fan base.
The U.S. Open Cup is the oldest ongoing knockout cup competition in American soccer. The competition this year features 100 teams from professional leagues sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation; Major League Soccer (MLS), the United Soccer League’s Championship and League One divisions, the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), and MLS Next Pro, as well as amateur clubs in the earlier rounds of the tournament that qualify through their respective leagues.
“This is a great opportunity to get into a ‘win-or-go-home’ mindset,” United Head Coach Eric Quill said. “Cup play is fun. But, you see it all the time, there’s upsets all over the place in this tournament. So, we need to make sure that our mentality is right, and our goal is to win this tournament.”
New Mexico United made a run in the U.S. Open Cup in 2019, beating two MLS teams en route to the quarterfinals of the tournament. That year, United became the first team from New Mexico to win a match in the U.S. Open Cup since the New Mexico Chiles in 1992.
Tickets for the match go on sale at noon Tuesday at newmexicoutd.com.
